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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Self-insured businesses looking to cut out the middleman when it comes to health care have a new way to solicit bids directly from doctors or hospitals.
Created by a doctor, a lawyer and a former benefits manager, Open Health Market is an online matchmaker of sorts: Employers submit requests for proposals for a category of medical services and procedures — knee surgeries, for example, or cardiac care.

A new study published by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of California, Davis, foresees improvements in patient outcomes after a major earthquake through more effective use of information technology. A control tower-style telemedicine hub to manage electronic traffic between first responders and remote medical experts could boost the likelihood that critically injured victims will get timely care and survive, according to the team's computer simulation model.

Before undergoing elective surgery, patients should consider waiting longer after a heart attack than is currently recommended, according to a study scheduled for publication in the May issue of the journal, Annals of Surgery.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recommend patients wait at least four to six weeks after a heart attack before undergoing elective surgery.

St. David's HealthCare announces the establishment of Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery at St. David's North Austin Medical Center, which will feature the Robotic Institute University, the nation's first educational epicenter teaching best practices for hospital and surgical teams involved in robotic-assisted surgery.

The Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research® (NOSCAR®), a joint effort of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), announces that institutions selected to participate in a multicenter human trial on transoral and transvaginal cholecystectomies (gallbladder removal) using Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery® (NOTES®) are enrolling patients to take part in the study.

TransEnterix, which is changing the surgical landscape with its innovative SPIDER® Surgical System, has unveiled a new set of minimally invasive instruments for surgeons.
Called the SPIDER MicroLapinstruments, the new line includes all of the familiar tools surgeons use during laparoscopic procedures – only in TransEnterix’s case, each instrument is 2.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada urologist accused of improperly reusing needle guides during biopsies says he did it based on instructions from a vendor.
Lawyers for Dr. Michael Kaplan say in a half-page ad in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the doctor was told reusing the plastic guides was perfectly safe.

Seemingly every year there are reports of a young, apparently healthy athlete dying on the court or playing field. The sudden death of Wes Leonard, a junior at Fennville High School, who died of cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart on March 3, may have parents and coaches wondering if enough is being done to identify athletes at risk for dying suddenly.

Titan Medical, Inc. recently announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent with London Health Sciences Center in London, Ontario, Canada, for testing and evaluation of their Amadeus Robotic Surgical Platform.
Under the terms of the letter of intent, LHSC will test and evaluate Titan's surgeon console and its component sub-systems (including vision system, telecommunication system, hand controllers, simulated instrumentation and ergonomic interface) and will provide the company with detailed reports.

(AP) — Europe's human rights court has opened a hearing into a Gypsy woman's allegation that she was wrongly and forcibly sterilized at a state-run hospital in her native Slovakia because of her ethnicity. The case at the European Court of Human Rights centers on allegations that a semi-official policy of forced sterilization of Gypsies — who prefer to be called Roma — in eastern Europe during the Communist era lingered in some areas after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

When physical therapy and drugs fail to relieve back or neck pain, patients often turn to spinal fusion surgery as a last resort, but two new studies show that in certain situations, especially when several discs are involved, artificial disc replacement may give better long-term results at lower cost.

Patients who've been hurt in car or bike crashes, been shot or stabbed, or suffered other injuries are more likely to live if they arrive at the hospital on the weekend than during the week, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research published in the Archives of Surgery .

In a study of 82 patients who were evaluated 12 or more years after undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for morbid obesity, a majority of patients reported that they were satisfied with the procedure, although approximately 40 percent experienced major complications and nearly half required removal of their bands, according to a report posted online that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of Surgery , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

(AP) — Anthem Blue Cross, the largest health plan in California, said Monday it will delay and reduce rate hikes that would have hit some 600,000 policyholders at an estimated cost of $40 million. Anthem is one of four major health insurers in the state who earlier agreed to put off premium increases for at least 60 days at the request of California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.